The member of The Colony talks on their releases to date, what they’ve got planned as a group, the break down of all the solo projects coming out way plus what he thinks is the best and worst release of 2 double O 4.

First up, can you give us a run through of the members of The Colony and how you guys got together?

The core members of The Colony are: Myself, Conspicuous, Willow, Smurf & we have extended fam members like Ophkea, Bleu Cobane, Leevan Kiff & Propaganda…We got together through just linking up at open mics really…got to know each other as peoples & the rest is history.

Where are you based and what releases as a group have you put out so far?

We put out a white label in 2001 called `Do It b/w ‘Too Advanced’ which to our surprise received ‘single of the month’ in HHC magazine…then we dropped a double A side single called ‘The Same Way’ b/w ‘Cark/Two Pounds’ by Willow…then in 2004 we dropped the ‘Target Practice’ EP.

What label/s did this stuff come out on and how did you land that opportunity?

Everything we’ve put out thus far has been under our own imprint ‘ottomanelfmusic’ It’s like the old saying goes “if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself”.

How have you found the reception to these releases and when are you gonna put something new out?

To be honest, the reception for the first two singles was kinda lukewarm as we hadn’t really gone out & given em the push we should have done…BUT! Since the ‘Target Practice’ EP, dudes have been a bit more weary of The Colony…as for new shit as The Colony, we got a FUCKING HUGE project lined up for next year with an certain overseas super group!

Are the guest spots on the Evil ED album and Tommy Evans LP the most recent things we can hear you lot on?

Yeah, we’re also meant to submit some shit for the upcoming ‘YNR Vol.2’ compilation & we also probably got this Colony/Iron Bridge project rollin as well.

Who handles the production side of things for you and which producers would you like to work with in the future?

Beat wise…WE ARE FUCKIN SORTED! We got the optimus prime of boom bap shit in the form of Conspicuous, also Propaganda, Apollo & Evil ED…those are the main 4 guys you most likely to hear on all ottomanelfmusic releases…as for who I’d like to work with: Ah Fly, Chemo, Flip & DJ Noize.

I saw something about you all working on solo projects for a while. What are you all up to?

Next year is gonna be a fucking flood of solo shit! Conspicuous is dropping his debut LP called ‘Backgammon’ which is dropping in June. He’s about 85% complete with it! It’s sum epic shit! Also, Smurf is dropping his album on YNR called ‘My Alpha’. It’s a 10 track banger with production mostly by Jehst & LG. Willow is dropping his ‘Brainfood’ EP which is a fucking stand up comedy in the form of hip hop! It’s sick! & I’m gonna drop the ‘Lok n Load’ mix CD which is gonna be 30 tracks of nastiness! Also, ‘The Sickening’ with Vakill & Chino XL I’m gonna drop next summer.

When do you reckon people will be able to hear the results of all that?

It’s gonna start most likely with Willow ‘Brainfood’ in Feb/March.

Putting out stuff as The Colony, is it sometimes hard for each individual to do exactly what they want? And is this the reason for the solo stuff?

Nah…I think what makes us work as a unit is the fact that we don’t sound like each other…We all got our own styles & vibes & that’s why we droppin solo shit so you can catch what we are about as individuals.

What does each personality bring to the table in terms of their influences and preferences in music?

We all more or less share the same taste in music…but! Like I said, none of our solo projects will sound the same as each other! Con’s album has a very soulful feel to it. Smurf’s is kinda on the mystic steez. Willow’s is some feel good-get drunk music & I’m on the dark, raw shit!

When you’re working on a track, do you all sit around and collaborate on verses or do you all just come together after having scribbled up your lyrics?

Most of `Target Practice` was conceived of just random verses! which is cool, but sometimes if you wanna capture that sunshine in a bottle u gotta sit down & build from scratch which is what we gonna be doing when it comes time for our next Colony project.

Do you do many shows as a crew and are there any you have lined up that you can let us know the dates and venues of?

Here’s a message to any promoter that wants us on their bill. Fuck you! Pay me! Hah! Nah, we doing Kung Fu on the 21st of December.

Any beatboxing, breaking or graffing go on amongst you lot?

Nah mang!

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